Dry cleaning processes for cleaning laundry articles are those in which an organic solvent, rather than water, is used as the primary medium for cleansing articles. In general, dry cleaning helps avoid damage which may be associated with aqueous washing (e.g., shrinkage or dye transfer).
The prior art discloses dry cleaning processes and machines which can be used by a consumer in his or her home (See, for example WO 01/94675, assigned to P&G). Typically dry cleaning machines use a dry cleaning solvent (e.g., typically a non-flammable, non-chlorine containing organic dry cleaning solvent or mixture of solvents).
The dry cleaning solvent composition is typically a composition comprising, in addition to solvent, small amounts of surfactant (as described, for example; in U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,530 to Murphy et al.) and the composition is contacted with a fabric article (any article that is customarily cleaned in a conventional laundry process or in a dry cleaning process; the term encompasses articles of clothing, linen, drapery and clothing accessories and also encompasses items made in whole or part of fabric such as tote bags, furniture covers, karpaulins and the like).
After the article is contacted with the dry cleaning solvent composition, typically there is generated a waste product which is the solvent in combination with lint and oils, spent surfactant etc. The solvent is then typically separated or “regenerated” from the waste product. In commercial dry cleaning machines, the waste which is accumulated in the machine is typically collected (e.g., by filtration distillation) in a compartment of the machine. In order to dispose of the waste, a service provider must empty the waste from the machine, risking exposure to the waste and/or solvent not fully separated from the waste. The waste must then be carted off by the provider.
In co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/293,807 , now published as U.S. 2004/008846 to Murphy, there is disclosed a method for collecting and servicing the solvent which is separated from the waste, but this application is silent about what happens with the waste and certainly does not disclose a method of disposing waste collected in a detachable or removable container.
In WO. 03/022982 to Proctor and Gamble, waste (in form of laundry additive) is separated from solvent and part of the waste (e.g., as lint) is removed in laundry filters (see pg. 4 lines 10-13) while the remainder of separated waste product is deposited down a drain. The reference neither teaches nor suggests collecting separated waste fluid (e.g., anything other than solvent that passes through laundry filters) in a disposable collection area or container whereby the waste can be removed by the home user him or herself in a closed, detachable container without requiring service person to come and remove waste. Further, the subject invention avoids having to wash waste materials into municipal water treatment facilities as well as possibly clogging the consumer's drain.